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The Dead Hand Journal

Journal

Entries for 'argee'

“It’s not easy being green,” crooned Kermit the Muppet to an entire generation of tykes. Columnist Alston Chase quoted a German Green politician who had been recently elected to the Bundestag—the German parliament: “Grass-roots democracy sounded wonderful before we were elected to Parliament. But now we are in power, centralized solutions seem far more effective.”

Exxon, of course, was on the scene. The men running this corporation sensed how the wind was blowing and made practical decisions. They spent more on the initial cleanup than the annual budget of several nations. Exxon deserves praise and respect for its actions following the spill. As it turned out, this was finally recognized by the court when it excused $125 million of Exxon's fine because of these actions. Nevertheless, the civil penalties levied against Hazelwood and Exxon are outrageous examples of how justice can be miscarried when emotion overcomes logic and opinion replaces fact.

Shortly after the spill in Prince William Sound, one news report described it as the worst manmade disaster since the bombing of Hiroshima. The Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth, and other groups pounced on the apparent villains, focusing their anger on Exxon and Captain Hazelwood. It became the media event of the decade. More than ten years later the Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia joined the fray, reporting that "in March 1989 the Exxon Valdez oil tanker struck a reef in Prince William Sound and caused one of the largest oil spills in history." While these things make terrific news copy, and the headline boys love it, does this reflect reality?

It is Tuesday, June 23, 1999. Capt. Joseph Hazelwood dons apron and gloves at the Bean’s Cafe soup kitchen in Anchorage, Alaska. He works silently emptying lettuce into a container as part of his 1,000-hour community service sentence. Monday he loaded a truck with aban­doned auto parts and assorted junk thrown along Anchorage roadways. He has a month to go, working off 200 hours of his sentence, one month a year for five years. By the end of his sentence he will be fifty-eight.

Book specific interview, discussing global warming, the ozone hole, nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorists and nuclear power, and specifically the lies about Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. Very lively and fun. Interview was taped for broadcast the day after Thanksgiving. Following this interview, the book reached #5 on the Amazon.com Bestseller list for environmental books, and hit #384 overall on Amazon Sales.

Drink your milk for strong bones and teeth! Did your mother ever tell you this? She’s right – if you are a calf. After all, milk is nature’s way of adding 300 pounds to a calf and turning it into a cow in about a year.